1. Field
The invention relates to controlling a vehicle remotely. More particularly, the invention relates to a method and system for ensuring proper control of a vehicle while the vehicle is being operated in environments where standard positioning technology of the vehicle is unavailable and/or unreliable. The system will then remain in control until after it is confirmed that the normal positioning technology operation of the vehicle has been restored.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
Controls for vehicles are becoming more sophisticated and all encompassing as technology progresses. This circumstance is true regardless of whether the vehicle is a land vehicle, a watercraft or an aircraft. The ultimate in controls for a vehicle can be found the Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs). The UAVs are guided by telemetry and, as the name purports, they are unmanned. UAVs are often referred to as drones.
One problem associated with UAVs is the situation in which the control system for the UAV is inappropriately accessed and manipulated in order to control the system and/or operate in a manner that prevents it from completing its mission as planned. In some instances, the UAV will be instructed to land in hostile territory. In other situations, the UAV may identify a target that is not the designated target for the mission in which the UAV is operating. Generally, such “spoofing” occurs when counterfeit GPS signals are sent to the UAV causing it to steer off course or have it operate in a manner other than what was previously designated in its mission.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a UAV, or other such vehicle, that is controlled remotely through telemetry to have a passive system that is capable of determining the true position of the vehicle and whether a portion of the control system has been compromised due to the receipt of counterfeit information, with the ability to collect that information prior to any action being taken on the host vehicle.